Author: Chief Editor

 Olusegun Adeniyi Therefore, a lion from the forest will attack them, a wolf from the desert will ravage them, a leopard will lie in wait near their towns to tear to pieces any who venture out…Jeremiah 5: 6 The introduction of the ‘Amotekun’ security outfit by South-West Governors has added a new dimension to how Nigerians make humour out of every situation. Aside Biblical inferences, I will not be surprised if we begin to see in the market creative leopard skin fashion collections, complete with make-believe talismans! But beyond the social media memes, there is a knotty problem that…

A number of African countries have introduced airport screenings and other precautionary measures to prevent the spread of coronavirus that has infected hundreds in China. The disease has also reached several other countries. China has been expanding its influence in Africa for years and the continent is a destination for Chinese business people and tourists alike. Congo is implementing measures at its airports and seaports, targeting people coming from “affected countries and continents’’, the central African country’s Health Minister said on Thursday. “The DRC does not know this virus but we are taking steps so that no case appears here,’’…

Rattled by the breakout of Lassa fever in neighbouring Ondo State, the Ekiti State government has established a special centre where suspected victims will be treated. Speaking in Ado Ekiti on Thursday at the flag off of a yellow fever vaccination programme, the Commissioner for Health, Dr Mojisola Yaya-Kolade, said Governor Kayode Fayemi has ordered taking proactive action, in view of the statistics indicating that 18 persons had been attacked in Ondo State while also battling many other suspected cases. She said: “The governor, Dr Fayemi, has placed all the health officers in Ekiti on alert and we have designated…

*20m people affected by govt’s preventive measure *No case of virus in Nigeria, says Lagos govt Following the death of 17 persons infected by the recent Coronavirus outbreak in China, the Chinese government has cut off the city of Wuhan, Huanggang and Ezhou from the rest of the world; putting 20 million residents of the provinces on partial lockdown and travel ban. Also, the Lagos State government has asked residents not to panic as no case of the virus has been identified in the state or in any other part of Nigeria. The lockdown in the cities, which is part…

The Senate has commenced investigations into alleged non remittance into the Federation Account of N20 trillion stamp duty collected since the last five years by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). The Chairman of the Senate Committee on Banking, Insurance and other Financial Institutions, Senator Uba Sani, said on Thursday that his committee decided to probe the apex bank following petitions from the public that the CBN allegedly failed to remit stamp duty totalling over N20 trillion collected from the commercial banks to the Federation Account since it was introduced in 2016. The committee, he stressed, is investigating the matter…

The Acting Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mr. Ibrahim Magu, has decried the alleged refusal of the United Kingdom to extradite former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Diezani Allison-Madueke, to face trial for alleged money laundering in Nigeria. Magu, while receiving the “Institution of the Decade” award on behalf of the EFCC at the awards ceremony organised by THISDAY Newspapers to mark its 25th anniversary in Lagos on Monday night, said the commission had sufficient evidence to prosecute Allison-Madueke for the alleged financial malfeasance she committed while in office. The looted funds, traced to Allison-Madueke and…

•Police stop rally in Lagos Thousands of people yesterday poured into the streets in the six South-west states to show their support for the region’s security initiative, Amotekun, threatened by the federal government’s objection to the outfit. The solidarity rallies for the Western Nigeria Security Network (WNSN), however, suffered setback in Lagos State as the police dispersed the marchers before the rally could begin. Ondo State Governor and Chairman of the South-west Governors’ Forum, Mr. Rotimi Akeredolu (SAN), also blamed those he described as internal collaborators for the various derogatory statements on Amotekun. He described the National Secretary of the…

•Insurgents reject N50m ransom offer •Group blames FG for murder of Andimi President Muhammadu Buhari yesterday condemned the killing of Chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) in Michika Local Government Area of Adamawa State, Pastor Lawan Andimi, by Boko Haram, describing it as cruel, inhuman and deliberately provocative. Buhari, in a statement by his spokesman, Malam Garba Shehu, expressed sorrow that the terrorists still killed Andimi after expressing their willingness to release him to third parties. Andimi was killed on Monday after the insurgents had rejected the N50 million ransom offered them. The president condoled with the Christian…

United States President, Donald Trump, is set to add Nigeria and six others to a new list of countries on America’s visa restriction, Wall Street Journal reports. According to the report, Nigerians would not be barred from entering the country but would not be issued with certain types of visas. The Trump administration plans to roll out its expanded travel restrictions on Monday, marking the three-year anniversary of the initial travel ban Trump signed on his seventh day in office, sparking controversy at the beginning of his term. Unlike the initial travel ban list of 2017, most of the new…

Fifteen-year-old prodigy Coco Gauff set up an Australian Open blockbuster with defending champion Naomi Osaka on Wednesday, as Novak Djokovic strode towards his eighth title in Melbourne. American teenager Gauff, showing a tenacity which is becoming her trademark, clawed her way back from a set down to beat the experienced Sorana Cirstea 4-6, 6-3, 7-5. Gauff, who screamed and pumped her fists as she completed her victory, said her “will to win” had got her through the tough second-round match at a windswept Melbourne Park. “My parents always told me you can always come back — no matter what the…